A Shawano School District parent claimed an administrator injured her child Jan. 20 when she spoke before the Shawano School Board, but that did not stop the board from approving contract extensions for the superintendent, school principals and associate principals and other key positions.
Cegie Wegner told the board that she received an electronic notification that her daughter, a Hillcrest Primary School student, was with an administrator at about 2:21 p.m. Jan. 14 “due to a rough afternoon.” She said she received a phone call from the administrator, not specifying him by name due to the board’s policy not identifying school officials individually, who told her that her daughter’s face had been scratched during the course of the disciplinary matter.
“At 3:15, her face was still bleeding,” Wegner said. “We left Hillcrest to pick up my son. On the way back from picking up my son, she mentioned that the administrator slammed her head against the wall four times.”
Wegner said she returned to Hillcrest to speak with the administrator again, who explained that he put his three middle fingers against the daughter’s forehead when he pushed her against the wall.
“He stated that he may have been too rough, and he may have scared her,” Wegner said. “At no time did he mention the reason he had to take her out of her teacher’s room. He did apologize to my daughter.”
Once the family returned home, the daughter complained about head and neck pain, according to Wegner, so a trip to Prevea commenced, and officials there recommended going to the emergency room at ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano, where she was checked for a concussion. Wegner did not specify if her daughter had a concussion, only saying that the hospital followed its mandatory reporting protocols.
“I do not feel this type of physical contact should be done to any student, no matter what situation,” she said.
Wegner said she sat down with Superintendent Kurt Krizan early the next morning for over an hour to discuss the situation. She said that she received two electronic messages after that meeting from teachers at Hillcrest mentioning “exact same incidents” happening in their classrooms.
Wegner said she received a “follow-up” later in the day on Jan. 15 and learned that the explanation she received from the administrator differed from the one he gave “to his superiors.”
“There was no camera evidence,” Wegner said.
She noted that she was coming forward, because she was concerned such incidents might be taking place beyond what happened with her daughter.
“This is not the first time my children have addressed aggressive interaction,” Wegner said. “I feel this incident is not being being handled properly, and I ask the school board to take this seriously and not to ignore that situations could be happening in our schools. I feel all interaction with unregulated children should be done in front of a camera to protect both students and staff.”
Wegner also asked the board to remove both write-ups from her daughter’s file due to the mother being unaware of them until after she met with Krizan.
Krizan contacted NEW Media via email and wrote that safety is the school district’s top priority.
“We were aware of this claim, and immediately completed a thorough investigation of the incident in accordance with district policies. We did not find evidence to support the claim,” Krizan wrote. “We remain fully committed to a safe school learning environment for all students and staff.”
The contract extensions approved allow the administrators to be employed through June 30, 2027. According to a memo from Janelle Schraufnagel, human resources director, state statutes require written notice at least four months prior to the end of an employment contact whether or not the contract will be renewed, even though the contract period does not end until June 30, 2026.
The school board unanimously approved the renewals. The contract extensions apply to Krizan; Learning Director Elisha Wagenson; Activities Director Joel Wondra; principals Matthew Raduechel, William Traber, Matthew Peterson and Aaron Manders; and associate principals Deanna Arrowood and Kayla Brendenmuhl.
The renewals did not apply to the data systems manager, buildings and grounds director, community education director, finance director, finance manager, human resources director and technology director. According to Schraufnagel’s memo, those positions get one-year contracts that renew at the same time as teacher contracts.
There was no mention of whether dean positions at the elementary schools are subject to the same types of contracts.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
Categories
